A Bear Invaded the Hotel That Inspired THE SHINING

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The remote, haunted, and sufficiently creepy Overlook Hotel of Stephen King’s The Shining may be fictional, but it was inspired by a very real place. The horror novelist came up with the idea for his classic story in 1974 after spending a night with his wife in the nearly deserted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. For any admirers of his novel or fans obsessed with Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film, it’s a great location to visit. But while we doubt you’ll run into any ghastly twin girls or evil ghost bartenders there, that doesn’t guarantee you won’t be scared to death if you check in for a stay. The Stanley has one thing even scarier than ancient Indian burial grounds: bears.

In a story we came across at Geekologie, a black bear casually walked into the lobby of the Stanley Hotel like he was checking it out before booking a room. According to 9News out of Denver, it’s not uncommon for wildlife to be seen outside the hotel (it is only a few miles from the Rocky Mountain National Park), but this is the first time on record that an animal came inside.

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Fortunately, no guests were in the lobby when the bear entered in the early morning. So where did this footage come from? An employee behind the front desk, who, rather than running away like an elevator of blood just opened, stood there filming the bear. Almost like they couldn’t be harmed by it… as though they weren’t really there… Forget the bear, are we sure this wasn’t filmed by an actual ghost?

Hey, maybe this place is the “real” Overlook Hotel after all. It’s not as though the Overlook is any stranger to bears…

How would you react to seeing a bear at “The Shining” hotel? Tell us in the comments below.